The ranks of American adults without health insurance is now 17.3 percent of the population, a rate that is the highest on record, according to a Gallup poll measuring uninsurance rates in the third quarter.
The rate statistically ties the 17.4 percent rate Gallup found in its second quarter poll, which shows a continuing increase in the percentage of uninsured adults since the beginning of the year. It also found that employer-based health insurance continues to decline with only 44.5 percent of adults getting health benefits through their employer, a marked decline from three years ago when 49.0 percent had employer-based insurance.
"The percentage of Americans who are uninsured is on the rise again after remaining fairly steady throughout 2010," Gallup concluded. "If more employers stop offering health insurance and the cost of purchasing insurance for individuals remains a barrier, it is possible that the uninsured rate will continue to rise – at least until additional parts of the 2010 healthcare legislation take effect."
[See also: Latest census figures show 49.9M lack health insurance; HHS: Most uninsured are unable to pay for hospital stays]
Gallup noted that the uninsured rate has increased significantly since the beginning of 2008 when it registered 14.6 percent. The fourth quarter of 2008 saw a significant jump in the uninsured rate – to 15.4 percent as the effects of the recession took hold.
In the first quarter of this year, Gallup found that rate to be 16.1 percent and warned that the last two findings of uninsured rates that have been above 17 percent may be due, in part, to a new polling methodology that allowed a greater number of responses to be made via cell phone. That change may have skewed the poll toward a younger population that traditionally has higher rates of uninsured.
That noted, the poll did find that people in the 19-25 years of age cohort have seen their rates of uninsurance decline, due to the new provision under the Affordable Care Act that allows adult children to gain insurance through their parents' employer-based health plans.
"However, none of the other components of the health law that have already been implemented – tax credits to help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees and the establishment of a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan among several others – appear to be affecting coverage for older adults," the report stated.